<p>WC- and Ni-coated WC-reinforced particles were injected into the Ti80 molten pool tail using laser melt injection. The influence of the pre-nickel plating layer on WC particles on the hardness, friction, and wear behavior of WC-reinforced Ti80 composite coatings was analyzed. The results indicated that the pre-nickel plating layer on the WC surface improved the wettability between WC particles and the titanium melt, accelerated their reaction, and resulted in denser and coarser TiC precipitation dendrites in the composite coating. Additionally, it thickened the W₂C inner shell and TiC outer shell at the WC particle interface and promoted the formation of W-rich titanium matrix phases. The surface hardness of the Ni-coated WC-reinforced Ti80 composite coating was 137% greater than that of the Ti80 substrate and 16% greater than that of the WC-reinforced Ti80 composite coating. Among the three samples, the highest wear rate was observed in the RDFW environment, followed by RWFW, with the lowest wear rate in BDFW. The Ni-coated WC-reinforced Ti80 composite coating exhibited the lowest wear rate across all three friction and wear environments. The wear mechanism of the substrate in all three environments was primarily adhesive wear accompanied by oxidative wear and abrasive wear, whereas the wear mechanism of the composite coating in all three environments was mainly abrasive wear accompanied by adhesive wear and oxidative wear. Pre-nickel plating on the surface of WC particles enhanced the hardness of the titanium matrix phase and increased the density and coarsening of TiC precipitates, thereby improving wear resistance.</p>